(Columbia, SC) – Late yesterday afternoon, we finally received access – for the first time – to the State Ethics Commission’s investigative report. This court-ordered public document has now been posted on the State House’s website (www.scstatehouse.gov) under the Citizens’ Interest tab with the 1300+ page document broken down into sections here.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee, appointed to address a pre-filed impeachment resolution, met today for the first time. The Subcommittee will consider the findings of this investigative report and use its facts as a basis in determining whether or not serious crimes or serious misconduct has occurred.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued the following statement about the report being finally made public and the work of the House Judiciary Subcommittee:

“Now that we have access to the Ethics Commission’s investigative report, the Judiciary Subcommittee can examine all the facts and determine if the Governor’s actions have risen to the level of removal. We have consistently said that any official action by the Legislature needs to be based on impartial facts, free from political motivation. And as we have previously stated, unless this investigation contains new facts of serious crimes or serious misconduct – information beyond that of which we were previously aware – this will be a difficult threshold to reach.

“Removal from office is a very serious issue, and it is something that neither the Judiciary Committee nor the House takes lightly. The Committee members will give full consideration to all the facts in this case and will make an informed recommendation that reflects our state’s Constitution.

“The amount of information we have to consider in this case is massive. I’m pleased and encouraged by the members’ willingness to conduct their work deliberatively so that we can properly address this issue and move our state forward. When we start the new Legislative session in January, we need to be fully prepared to begin working on the issues South Carolinians care about the most. Putting our citizens back to work needs to be our primary focus.”